Journeys

A man with a kayak is never lost. No matter whither he may paddle, his food and shelter are right with him, and home is wherever he may choose to land.

Visiting Jordan River for the First Time

The stars aligned and I was finally able to make my way north to Jordan River (JR) B.C. It was sort of a last minute decision for the trip, I called up Mario a friend and fellow paddler in Victoria and told him I was coming up. We made plans to meet  at JR Saturday morning. I didn't not have time to make ferry reservations, or campsite reservations, oh and by the way it was easter weekend.

I showed up 2 hours early Friday for the 12:45pm sailing from Port Angeles to Victoria and there was already a dozen cars in the queue.  I was placed up front and off to the side. This gave me a great view of all the other cars, RV's, and 5th Wheels driving on ahead of me and making me apprehensive about my chances of getting on. The entire lot cleared, the cars had all filed on and the attendant walked off the boat turned and signaled for me to drive on, phew, I made it! The crossing was 90 minutes and the wind was blowing a steady 25 knots out of the west which put the boat beam to the seas. The ferry, the Motor Vessel Coho, has a bit of a reputation for healing over in beam seas and today was no exception. It was entertaining to watch people walk up and down the walkways. Rain and spray splattered the port windows and you could see the top of the waves being blown off out of the starboard windows.

The wind let up as we approached Victoria and the rain turned to showers. Once you made your way out of Victoria the drive to JR is a winding 2 lane highway punctuated with beautiful views of the straits. I was planning on camping at one of the 2 area Provincial Parks near JR however one was full and the other still closed for the season. I scouted a few logging roads near JR and settled on one that dropped below the highway and ended with a flat level turnaround/landing with sweeping views of the Straits and a small water fall adjacent. At night I could see the lights of Sekiu directly across the way. It rained HARD most of the night and in the back of my mind I worried about how stable the hill side was with all the logging.

I woke up around 7 to a horrible rumble and realised I must have been snoring and woke myself up, it was still raining so I pulled the sleeping bag over my head and woke again around 9 to silence, no more rain. I made my coffee, fixed myself a bowl of grape nuts and yogurt and watched a rain squall move across the US side of the straits.

After breakfast I drove back to JR and pulled in amongst a parking lot packed with surfers around 9:30-10. I hung out in the truck as it was raining again and just watched the flow of the waves and how the surfers and sup'rs were lining up for their rides. The waves were barely knee high to the surfers and I was beginning to question whether the trip was worth it or not.

A short while later a car rolled in with 2 Sterlings Kayaks on top, a Reflection and the New Progression! It turns out it was 2 Victoria paddlers I had not met yet, Jon & Gordie, from Ocean River Sports. They explained that the waves were small then but should grow as the tide fills in the river mouth. To kill time, we walked over to the Cold Shoulder Cafe to warm up and fill our coffee mugs.

By the time we got back to the cars the waves had gotten bigger as the tide came in so we slowly started to unload the boats and gear up. By the time we got on the water around 11am the waves were now waist to shoulder high and starting to roll into the river mouth. It was starting to look promising and I was beginning to buzz with excitement. Jon & Gordie filled me on the do's and dont's with long boats as the surfers are protective of their waves. Luckily the surfers primarily surf a point break while we stay on the opposite side to ride the waves entering the river the river mouth.

As the tide came in, the waves continued to grow and true to the videos I had seen of the Hurricane Riders surfing here, the waves amazingly held their shape for a long distance allowing for some fun rides.

While taking a break on shore, James Manke rolled into the parking lot. Holy Crap, James freaking Manke, he's a famous greenland paddler. I was a little start struck, turns out he is a really cool guy, very down to earth, very chill, very fun to surf with!

By the end of the day, the waves were coming in head high and every once in a while they would dump and take out the entire line of SUP'rs and Kayakers, it was a great time! I have never surfed on such long waves with so many people. I actually had to carve turns around several people on my rides in.  

JR is an absolutely amazing place to surf a kayak and I want to thank Mario, Jon, Gordie and James for sharing wave time and knowledge with me. That being said JR is not a place for beginners, you have to have strong boat control skills in surf to be able to avoid others. Surfers are protective of the point break so do not go there and share the waves with the SUP'rs and follow the basic rules of surfing etiquette any time your are surfing with others.

Really Jordan River is not that great so dont go and tell your friends ;)